1. Review Your Goals

Review your entertainment career goals to make sure they are clear and up-to-date. Maybe you thought you wanted to be a talent agent, but after six months on the desk of an agency power player, you changed your mind. What’s your goal now?

2. Describe Your Career Goals

Create a really solid two to three sentence description of who you are and what your entertainment career goal is. This is also known as an “elevator pitch.” It’s called an elevator pitch because the time it takes to say it is supposed to be the same amount of time as a short elevator ride.

You get on the elevator and there’s Bob, the guy your company just met with about a project. You want to meet him because you are dying to intern/work for his company. “Hi. My name is Megan and I’m a PR student,” you say. “I want to work in movie marketing when I graduate and I’m looking for an internship for next semester.”

Or, “My name is Jeff. I just graduated from Boston University College of Communications and I’m looking for an opportunity to break into production.”

With your pitch polished and ready to go, by the time those elevator doors open, you could have yourself a lead on that sought-after internship or job.

3. Introduce Yourself To Someone

Now, reach out to someone you admire who doesn’t know you and introduce yourself. Don’t wait to luck into an elevator ride with Bob. Send him an e-mail, make a phone call, or go up to him at the studio commissary. Yes, you can do it.

All you have to say is, “Hello, Bob. I don’t believe we’ve met.” And then lay out your elevator pitch. Bob might mumble a quick, “It’s nice to meet you” and move on to join his business associates for lunch. Or he might just tell you who to contact to talk about opportunities at his company.

Note: Don’t be discouraged if nothing comes out of these first introductions. The idea is to be clear about your goals, practiced in your pitch, and ready, willing and able to reach out to make things happen in your career.